InterExchange Teach English in France

My experience with the Interexchange teaching assistant program was a overall positive. I was placed at a boarding school in Northern France, and lived in an apartment with a german teaching assistant, another english teaching assistant, and two spanish teaching assistants. Living in the apartment with people around my age with such diverse backgrounds was one of the coolest parts of my experience. I also felt like I had a lot of freedom to travel around on my time off, something I valued.

PROS: I was in constant contact with my InterExchange representative, Sophie, and she was extremely welcoming and helpful. I felt comfortable reaching out to her with any concerns- about the program, the town I was in, or just questions about things to do in France in general. She looked after me very well and always made sure I was enjoying my experience. Also, the workload was not overwhelming in anyway.

CONS: I was in a very small town, and traveling around on the weekends was a little more difficult that I originally planned. I wished that I had voiced before I was placed that I would have preferred a larger city. I also had a goal of being very fluent and confident in my French, but spoke mostly English at the school and with my roomates. Even though my living situation was one of my favorite parts, doing a homestay might have helped with this.

Teaching English in France was one of the best decisions I have ever made in my life. InterExchange was also very helpful throughout the entirety of my duration-from start to finish. I was placed with an excellent host family and lessons were prepared in a conversation setting. My host family prepared a wide array of French food and introduced me to French music and customs and I am forever grateful for their kindness and hospitality. I highly recommend this experience if you are interested in fully immersing yourself in the French culture!

When I was trying to decide how to spend my summer, I knew I wanted to do something that combined my love of traveling as well as my career goals to one day become a teacher. InterExchange was able to provide just that! Once I began the application process, I was immediately contacted by Shadi, who gave me more information, and was a huge help along the way, from the first day to the last. By the time I was heading to the airport, I felt very prepared. Once I arrived in France, everything just fell into place! My host family was incredible, and so welcoming. I truly felt like a member of their family. There are a lot of different layers to an experience like this one. Tutoring wise, my situation was a little tricky, since I was helping a 6 year old, a 13 year old, and a 15 year old, who were all at completely different levels. But the challenge was fun! It's a good way to get creative and start practicing for my future - there are so many ways to incorporate fun into learning. One of my favorite memories was looking up lyrics to the kids' favorite songs and learning new vocabulary from that, and then singing karaoke (note to readers: trying to explain some of the words in Nicki Minaj songs gets real funny, real fast). Besides the tutoring aspect, it's also so great to be a part of a family - I loved staying up late and playing card games or watching movies with my host siblings! In addition to that, it's impossible to forget that you are in France. My host family was really flexible - as long as I gave them advanced notice, I could go into Paris whenever I wanted, and they were happy to take me to the train station. They also were excited to show me some places themselves, so we all went to Versailles and an amusement park, too! Overall, I had a really great experience, and would 100% recommend this program to others!

The Teach English in France program provides a fantastic opportunity to spend time abroad and experience another culture first hand. The program allows you to live with a French family for 1-3 months as an English tutor. Lessons are given in a conversational setting. After your application and acceptance, InterExchange works with an agency in France to place you with a suitable host family. If you cannot be placed for some reason then you are refunded your deposit.
In my experience, the staff members at InterExchange were really helpful in explaining the ins and outs of the program and in guiding me through the process. Obviously, you must take initiative and responsibility for your travel, your interactions with the family, and the English lessons. However, InterExchange does a great job with their part by facilitating the experience and guiding you along the way. I would absolutely recommend checking this out if you have an interest in other cultures, teaching, and traveling.

I wanted to teach English in France because it is something I'm interested in doing for my future career. I was nervous at first to meet my host family but they are so welcoming and from the first day I felt like I was at home. A regular weekday for me looks like this...
8:00/8:30--Wake up and get ready for the day
8:30--12:00--Create lessons for the kids, eat breakfast, watch TV, laundry, really do anything I want to around the house
12:00--Lunch with the family (one set of grandparents, host mom, daughter, and sometimes host father) since they have two hours for lunch. The two boys don't come home since they eat at school
1:00--4:00--Go to school with my host mom
4:00--evening--Depending on what activities are going on that night I may have to teach one English course or three English courses. We eat dinner around 7:30/8:00 and the kids start going to bed around 9:00. I stay up later and talk with my host parents.
The weekends are a totally different matter, we have been to many rugby games (rugby is the sport of southern France), visited different cities such as Carcassonne, and visited Spain. We have also stayed at home and entertained guests or have just had a chill weekend.
A couple highlights would be going to Carcassonne because it has such a rich history and exploring other small villages in the area with my host mom, getting to know different kids and not being isolated at home all day, and becoming part of another family in a different culture. One huge difficulty I have encountered is the language barrier. I had four years of French in high school but I graduated three years ago and even if I hadn't it is totally different living in a French speaking country than having a class one hour/day. Duolingo and GoogleTranslate have been immensely helpful and my host family has been very gracious with any mistakes I make while speaking their language.
I really have loved my experience and my host family and I'm already planning when I can return to France!